


Sleep Habits

by CommanderBunnBunn



Series: Knowing the weirdly intimate things about your platonic partner [1]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Best Friends, Bromance, Brotherly Bonding, Codependency, Fluff, Gen, Insomnimac, Parental Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:06:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25196659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CommanderBunnBunn/pseuds/CommanderBunnBunn
Summary: Series title says it all---knowing the weirdly intimate habits of your platonic partner. This installation is about sleep.
Relationships: Jack Dalton & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Series: Knowing the weirdly intimate things about your platonic partner [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1825321
Comments: 24
Kudos: 61





	Sleep Habits

**Author's Note:**

> Of course I set out to write a short, under 500 word little cute thing, and it got out of hand.

Over the years, Jack had spent many nights watching MacGyver sleep. Not in a creepy way, but in the overprotective way a mom watches her infant in the crib from the doorway. This was especially the case when Mac was sick or injured.

Jack had learned a lot about Mac's sleep habits in that decade-what nightmares looked like, from pained restless sleep to peaceful dreamless slumber and everything in between. So much so that he'd given names to Mac's various sleep positions. 

Mac had been dealing with quite a bit of insomnia, so after the mission, Jack volunteered himself as Mac's houseguest for the weekend. 

"I know you haven't been sleeping lately, hoss, so I'm gonna make sure your weekend is full of relaxation and sleep."

"Jack, there's nothing you can do to help me, I just don't really sleep all that often."

Mac argued.

"Believe me, I know. You don't sleep because your body needs sleep, you only sleep when your body can't tolerate being awake anymore."

Mac rolled his eyes.

"I promise you that by the end of this weekend, I'll have you sleeping like a baby." Jack patted his shoulder. 

"Babies rarely sleep through the night." Mac added with agitated sass.

"Don't rip apart my metaphors, son. I didn't make it up, but I stand by the spirit of the words."

Once 6 o'clock rolled around, they had a lovely surf n turf dinner. "Alright, hoss, no more drinkin' the rest of the night."

Mac raised his nearly empty bottle and shook the swill that was left in the bottom, "I didn't intend to have more than this beer."

"I mean drinking, not _drinking_ drinking. No water either."

"But you water is essential."

"Then you better chug now, you've got 5 minutes."

"How is septuagenarian dinner time and depriving myself of water going to help me sleep?"

"It's not, but we're not gonna risk you being on the verge of falling sleep and having to get up and pee. Then you'll never get to sleep. And it's just for tonight."

"Jack," Mac sighed loudly, "I've tried weighted blankets, silence, noise, pitch black, eating certain foods, lavender oils, pretty much anything you can think of."

"I know, and now we're gonng try Jack's way."

"Fall asleep on the couch while watching pretty much anything?"

It was Jack's turn to roll his eyes, "oh hah hah, very funny. The power nap has saved my life more times than I can count."

Half an hour later, as expected, Jack fell asleep watching TV and awoke refreshed soon after. Jack yawned and stretched, a dozen pops from various joints didn't seem to phase him. The power naps ended the same way every time, Mac had seen them enough to know the wake up ritual. He knew that Jack would stand up next, arch his back with another loud crack or two, and then readjust his junk with a lift and arbitrary scratch that lasted longer than it should have. Knowing that he knew that would happend, and did happen, made Mac think that maybe they knew each other a little too well. Jack would argue that their weirdly intimate knowledge of each other's personal habits leveled up their friendship, but Mac found it weird but also endearing, he'd not had an opportunity in his life to be close enough to anyone for long enough to notice their personal habits, except maybe Bozer. But Bozer and Mac had their own personal space and boundaries. When it came to Jack, those boundaries didn't exist anymore, trampled over like a herd of bulls.

Jack grabbed and squeezed Mac's shoulder, "now go out and do whatever you're gonna do, go running, do some crazy experiments, spackle some drywall, whatever you wanna do to get your heart pumping, but be back and in the shower at 1955 hours exactly."

"Oh-kay." Mac's voice rose in a nervously questioning tone. 

At five minutes till eight, Mac was obediently in the shower. When he came out of the shower with the towel slung low across his hip, he stepped into his bedroom to find his pajamas laid out for him, presumably by Jack. Sweatpants and only sweatpants.

Mac grabbed an old t-shirt out of his drawer and slipped it on over his head, shaking out his wet hair like a golden retriever before toweling it dry one last time. Jack knocked on the bedroom door and opened it without waiting for an invitation.

"That'll just get in the way, take it off." Jack ordered. "You can have it back later."

Mac tossed the towel and pulled the shirt back off,; confused, he tossed it onto the bed. Then Jack cast some soothing new age music to a speaker in Mac's room before pulling a handful of scented tea candles out of his pocket and placing them around the room prior to lighting them.

Mac raised his eyebrows, "dude, this is getting weird."

"Just shut your yap and go along with it. I promise this will help." Jack indicated with his finger for Mac to sit in an empty spot on the floor. 

Mac shrugged and sat down crosslegged like an apt pupil. Jack sat across from him on the ground and put his legs straight out in front of him, indicating with a nod for Mac to do the same. "Now I'm not so flexible anymore, so yout may be able to get a little deeper into the poses than I can, so do what you can, but don't hurt yourself."

"Yoga, really? Is that what we're doing?" 

"Yes, smartass. And it works." Jack shut down the flippant remarks immediately. 

"And since when are you a yoga instructor, you can't even bend over without making loud angry noises."

"My body's been through a lot, young padawan; if it weren't for the occasional video call to an old ex for help with stretches, I wouldn't be nearly as spry as I am." 

"Ah, yes, the yoga instructor ex girlfriend." Mac remembered Jack telling stories about his very flexible ex.

"Well, there was a time where I had some issues sleeping, and we all know and want to forget the Ambien Incident. So she helped me find ways to fight the insomnia. And here we are. I'm imparting my wisdom onto you now."

"I don't think it's gonna work."

"Ok naysayer, you'll be eating your words with your Coco Puffs in the morning after you wake up refreshed." 

Jack pulled his foot in to press against his inner thigh and coached Mac how to fold over to reach his toes while keeping his pelvic bowl in line with his neck and spine. "Not too far, hoss, you don't want to hurt yourself."

"Nah, I'm good." Mac answered with his forehead on his shin and Jack sat up to make sure he was not arching his back, impressed with the kid's youthful flexibility. 

They went through 5 poses and cycled through them again, holding them for longer the secoond time third and fourth time. '

"Ok this is the last one, and it's the best." Jack stood up and joints popped. "Go lie flat on the bed." Mac pushed a pillow to the side and complied. "Close your eyes, and relax everything. Breathe slowly and evenly. Savasana is the most relaxing, wonderful, and difficult poses there is."

Mac raised up on his elbows, "lying down? That's not challenging." 

"And yet you're failing miserably. Lie down, clear your mind, relax." Jack commanded and Mac complied as much as he could. Jack waited 90 seconds to give Mac a chance to get it right. Jack grabbed Mac's wrist and shook his arm stiffly. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing, like you said."

"Nuh uh, your arm is stiff, not relaxed."

"Because you grabbed it."

"No, this is a safe space, you don't have to be on alert, just empty your mind, let the hamsters take a nap for once. Clear your mind." 

Mac sighed out loud, "ok, I'll try."

Jack broke the silence again, "what are you thinking about now?"

"Nothing, Jack"

"That's bull and you know it."

"So you're a mind reader now?"

"No, but you're not completely relaxed, I can tell you had your tongue pressed to the roof of your mouth by the way your jaw was set, AKA _NOT RELAXED_ " Jack scolded and Mac grunted in frustration. "I'll coach you through it." Jack saw Mac's eyes roll under his eyelids even in the low light. "Start at your hair, think of how every individual follicle has feeling and sensation. It's overwhelming, isn't it? Now turn that off, your hair is floating in space detatched from your body."

"This is so weird," Mac added.

"Shush." Jack cut him off, "now let your eyes melt into the back of your skull."

"Like in Indiana Jones..." Mac interrupted with a smile hoping his old movie reference would take Jack's weird intensity down a peg.

"Kid, I'mma smack the taste out of your mouth if you don't take this seriously. I swear it will work if you just let everything go."

"Ok, I promise I'll do it right this time." knowing Jack's threat was just that, but sensing his agitation he decided to give it a real attempt.

"It's gotta feel like when you have the biggest stretch in the morning and it engages every muscle and then releases, and you're just a wet noodle lying there content and relaxed." He waited for Mac to nod in acknowledgment and continued. "Where were we? hair, eyes, now forget your sinuses, focus on your breathing, that's your only job, to breathe. Now let your tongue loose, exhale through your mouth." Mac did and sealed his lips together again. "Let your jaw go slack, I can see the tension, you've gotta let that go." Macs lips parted again with the exhale and he let his jaw relax. "There's still tension in your shoulders. I see it." Jack leaned over and grabbed both of his wrists and wiggled Mac's arms like they were noodles. "Let this go." He wiggled them again, and Mac let them loosen up. He placed Mac's left hand back on the bed and cupped the right in both of his, shaking it out again from his shoulder until it was fully loose as well. Jack gingerly laid Mac's hand palm up on the bed and ran his fingers down Mac's palm and fingers to insure they fell back into their natural curl. 

He could tell his boy was already more relaxed. Jack's voice softened as he coached Mac through relaxing each and every major muscle group and joint. Once he finally got to Mac's ankles, he was visibly completely relaxed, his bare feet turned out on their own, one a cocked a little further to the side than the other. Jack smiled at his accomplishment and silently took himself to the floor to do the same. He reached the point of pure relaxation in a matter of seconds and lay there for several minutes before sitting up crosslegged next to the bed and speaking quietly. 

"Now bring awareness back to your body, wiggle your fingers and toes, blink and swallow and shrug your shoulders. Roll to your side and put your legs over the side of the bed before you sit up."

Mac did it and exhaled loudly, "Man, I hate to admit it, but that really felt good. I think I actually fell asleep. But why didn't you let me sleep."

"You were in a very relaxed place, so now we've set you up for good sleep. You can put on your t-shirt and get under the covers. I'll get rid of these candles so you don't burn your house down." Jack told him as he pulled out his phone to turn off the music.

"Maybe we could keep the music." Mac suggested.

"I'll send it to you, I don't want the playlist to end and then go straight into Metallica and wake you up."

"Ok," Mac smiled and slid under his comforter, closing his eyes as he smooshed the side of his face into his cold pillow, content relaxation apparent.

Jack tousled Mac's hair, "sleep well, kid. I'll be on the couch if you need me."

Half an hour later, Jack cracked Mac's door open to check on him and make sure he got to sleep. Jack was very familiar with most of Mac's sleep positions, and knew what most of them meant, how Mac slept when he was in pain, anxious, exhausted, etc. Jack had given most of these positions his own fun names, and this one was definitely a good one. Mac was getting some deep and restful sleep based on how he was spread across the bed in this position...

Freddie Mercury-chicken wing-flamingo. 

One arm stretched all the way up and under the pillow with the same side leg aligned perfectly straight from fingertips to toes, making him nearly 7 feet long. The other arm was out perpendicular from his torso, elbow bent in half and hand tucked under his chest. His other leg bent, naked toes tucked under his straightened knee to hold him partially on his side and partially on his belly. So completely at rest that he didn't notice or care that his sweatpants were hiked halfway up one calf. the blanket, mostly pooled on the floor, was only covering his ass and part of his thigh and not the swath of exposed skin from where his shirt had ridden up his back. 

If he listened closely, Jack could hear the faintest and sweetest snore.


End file.
